Scanning technique could improve heart failure diagnosis

UK cardiologists have found that some patients with heart failure may benefit from a heart scan using a technique called cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR).

At present, an invasive technique called an angiogram is used to diagnose heart failure resulting from dilated cardiomyopathy.

However, experts at Royal Brompton Hospital say that CMR could provide a simpler and more cost-effective approach.

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The technique captures images of the heart muscles and enables doctors to spot scarring of the heart wall that would not be visible with an angiogram.

Dr Sanjay Prasad, consultant cardiologist at Royal Brompton, explained that an angiogram cannot help to diagnose and treat patients with DCM who have unobstructed arteries.

'Using CMR, we were able to identify a pattern of scarring to the heart tissue caused by DCM in patients who have early onset heart failure,' he revealed.

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The researchers have tested the technique in 120 patients. Their results, which are published in Circulation journal, show that it enabled them to correctly diagnose 95 per cent of cases of DCM.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, which helped to fund the research, said: 'This research could have a big impact on the way thousands of patients are tested in the future.'

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